Biofuels are an alternative to conventional fossil fuels. However, one of the main drawbacks to conventional biofuel crops, such as corn, canola, sweet sorghum, etc., is their demand on land and water, and the fact that they shift resources from food production to fuel production. One solution is to develop production of biofuel feedstocks from resources that do not place a higher demand on agricultural land and resources, such as algae. Algae may ultimately be the preferred plant for biofuel production as an alternative to petrochemical replacements and also to conventional biofuel crops. However, at present, high capital and operation costs have been significant limitations for commercial production of biofuels from algae.
Over the past decade, researchers have focused on new algae production systems (photobioreactors) as an improvement over open pond and raceway systems. However, both types of systems have significant disadvantages and a need remains for effective and economical systems and methods for algae cultivation.